That night, in and around Nanzheng City, the streets were filled with the sound of chanting sutras and the bells and chimes were ringing and melodious. People spontaneously greeted him on the roads, burning incense and burning paper.
Yang Song was busy until midnight before resting. Early the next morning, he left Nanzheng with his entourage, headed south along the Mian River from Hanzhong, and headed straight to Shangyong.
A messenger came to report the news a long time ago, and Shen Dan personally greeted him outside the city, which surprised Yang Song. Brother Shen Dan had always looked at him coldly, why did he change his attitude today?
A banquet had already been arranged in the mansion, and after sitting down to see the ceremony, Shen Dan sighed with sadness on his face.
Yang Song asked: "What is the general worried about?"
Shen Dan sighed and said: "Liu Qi sent troops to Fangling, fearing that he might attack Shangyong. I was about to ask my master for help, but unexpectedly, sir came first."
Yang Song nodded slightly: "When Cao Cao occupied Nanyang, the general was awarded by Cao Cao. General Liu naturally thought that he was a member of Cao's party. Shangyong is adjacent to Nanyang, like a awn on his back, how could he not be on guard?"
Shen Dan said helplessly: "When I asked for an order from the imperial court, I was not surrendering to the Cao family. However, the imperial court was controlled by Cao Cao and the imperial edict was issued. How could I resist and disobey it?"
Yang Song twisted his beard and said: "Then Cao Cao is called the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, but he is actually a traitor to the Han Dynasty. Since the general only cares about the court, why not join Liu Qi in Jingzhou?"
"What did you say?" Shen Dan was shocked and stared at Yang Song.
He never imagined that this guy who was greedy for money would make shocking remarks as soon as he entered the city.
Yang Song smiled and said: "Since Liu Xuande was killed, I think the only person in the world who can revitalize the Han Dynasty is General Liu. He is a clan member of the Han Dynasty, and he has the land of Jingzhou, with many soldiers and sufficient food, and the scholars have returned home. He is the only one who can resist Cao Cao."
"Hmph!" Shen Dan's face darkened and he sneered: "Your Excellency came to ask for help, but instead persuaded me to surrender to others. Master Zhang is really blind."
Yang Song looked up to the sky and laughed: "Hahaha, what a fool's theory!"
Shen Dan said angrily: "Am I wrong?"
Yang Song shook his head and sighed: "It's ridiculous that the general's mortal eyes don't know the destiny. I don't know that my master has opened his heavenly eyes long ago and has seen that the rising dragon energy of the Imperial City must be on Liu Qi."
"Seriously?" Shen Dan was surprised.
Zhang Lu has a very high prestige in the Hanzhong area. His ancestor has become a Taoist. He also has the ability to communicate with ghosts and gods, and everyone respects him?
Yang Song sneered and said: "General, do you really think that I came to Shangyong to ask for help? Shangyong's thousands of troops are just a drop in the bucket. I was ordered to go south this time to make friends with Liu Shijun in Jingzhou. Shijun is thinking of our past friendship. Risking to reveal a little bit of secrets, how to make a choice, but it depends on the general."
"This..." Shen Dan was stunned and frowned.
He had known that Ma Teng would send troops, and he expected that Yang Song came here to ask for help. He knew that he was no match for the Xiliang army, so he deliberately threatened Liu Qi to send troops to evade. Who would have expected that he was wrong.
At this time, Liu Qi had completely occupied Nanyang and had recently sent more troops to Fangling. This was also true. Although Shen Dan was trying to evade, he was actually worried.
While they were having a banquet, soldiers suddenly broke into the hall and reported: "General, something bad has happened. Wei Yan has led his troops to invade, and Captain Zhao has been killed by him."
"What?" Shen Dan stood up in shock, his face changed drastically.
Fangling and Shangyong were connected. He had already sent troops to set up defenses along the way, but he still couldn't resist.
Yang Song held the wine glass and said slowly: "General, it's time to make a decision."
"Brother..." At this moment, Shen Yi came in in a panic, wearing tattered clothes and looking panicked: "The bandits from Zhushan came out and robbed our goods."
The Shen family mainly deals in mountain products such as medicinal materials and animal skins. They travel between the Daba Mountains and the Qinling Mountains and have close contacts with the Qiang and Ba people. However, they are often robbed by mountain bandits, especially after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, when banditry became more rampant.
The two brothers Shen Dan gathered local warriors to eliminate the bandits and made great achievements. They wiped out all the bandits in the territory and became princes.
"These thieves are so brave!" Shen Dan was furious and gritted his teeth and said, "I will not be a human being unless I avenge this."
Shen Yi swallowed: "Brother, this group of thieves is different from the past. They come together, there are two to three thousand people, all under the banner of Jingzhou."
"What did you say?" Shen Dan was shocked again and murmured: "Could it be that he came in response to Wei Yan?"
Yang Song said: "Even bandits and bandits can distinguish between good and evil, so they come to General Liu out of admiration. Isn't the general's knowledge inferior to that of these bandits?"
Dong dong dong——
When he was hesitating, suddenly the drums sounded loudly from the top of the city. Shen Dan was shocked and shouted: "What's the matter with the drums?"
"Report——" The defender came again to report: "Wei Yan has reached the bottom of the city and is calling for battle."
"Come so fast?" Brothers Shen Dan looked at each other and hurried towards the city.
Yang Song also stood up and asked Sun Qian, who was sitting at the bottom, "Sir, do we want to go take a look?"
Sun Qian nodded and said with a smile: "General Liu is sure that as soon as his troops come to the city, Brother Shen Dan will surrender in large numbers, so naturally he will go."
"How does he know?" Yang Song was stunned for a moment, then followed Sun Qian and said with a smile: "Is there anything wrong with what I just said?"
Sun Qian nodded and said with a smile: "Sir, what you said is exactly right. I think Brother Shen Dan is already tempted, so I will definitely thank you very much."
Yang Song chuckled and said, "It's what I should do to satisfy General Liu."
When the two came to the city, they saw a group of troops outside the city. The lineup was neat and uniform, with bright armor. The helmets and robes were all red. They were led by a general with a face like a jujube and a majestic sword in his hand.
Yang Song was shocked and said: "Could it be that the person who came is Guan Yunchang? How can I tell you that it is Wei Yan?"
Sun Qian smiled and said: "This is Wei Yan! General Guan has silkworm eyebrows, red phoenix eyes, and a two-foot-long beard, which makes him even more majestic."
I saw Wei Yan raising his sword and shouting: "Shen Dan, you surrendered to Cao's thieves and helped Zhou to do evil. If you abandon the secret and surrender to the light as soon as possible, you can forget the blame. If there is even the slightest hesitation, someone will enter the city and leave no trace of armor."
Yang Song was surprised and murmured: "Red-faced people... are all so domineering?"
Shen Yi thought that he was no match for Wei Yan, so he discussed: "Liu Qi is a clan member of the Han Dynasty, and Nanyang has been completely owned by him. Cao Cao is beyond his reach. To protect the clan and the people in the city, we should open the city!"
Shen Dan sighed softly, looked back at Yang Song who was pointing, and nodded silently.
Just when he was about to give the order to open the city, suddenly dust started flying in the north and people were moving around. I saw a noisy group of people and horses coming, swarming like cattle and sheep. In a blink of an eye, they were at the bottom of the city, and it was noisy.
"Brother, it's not good!" Shen Yi's face changed greatly: "It's the bandits from Zhushan... There are evil tigers from the Qinling Mountains over there, hiss - the three wolves from Bashan are also here..."
Shen Yi gasped when she saw the row of bandit leaders with different clothes and unruly expressions at the bottom of the city. These were all the people they had driven away and suppressed, and they had a deep hatred.
Shen Dan looked solemn: "We must not open the city at this time. We must go out of the city to negotiate with Wei Yan first and ask these thieves to retreat before they can surrender."
Shen Yi looked at the thieves in fear and asked, "Who dares to leave the city?"
The generals and officials on the left and right all bowed their heads. These bandits were ruthless and had hated them for a long time. Wouldn't leaving the city mean death?
"If the general is trustworthy, I'd like to leave!" At this moment, Yang Song came pacing with his hands behind his back, "I want to make friends with Liu Qi, so I'm sure Wei Yan will give him some sympathy."
Shen Dan was overjoyed, and the two brothers bowed and thanked him: "That's it, sir."
Yang Song puffed out his belly, tugged at his beard and sighed: "In these days, if there is no money - who is willing to do things for you?"
